


Roses and Blood

by CTKO



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22445101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CTKO/pseuds/CTKO
Summary: Junmyeon was tired of throwing up flowers every time he even got a tiny crush on someone, so when he fell in love with Yixing with no side effect, he was overjoyed. He thought he was finally in the clear. Then he met Jongdae.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38
Collections: Unrestricted Love Poly Fic Fest





	Roses and Blood

**Author's Note:**

> #AU025

“Yixing, do you know where the box with the lamps is?” Junmyeon yells out. He has been finishing unpacking the kitchen while Yixing dealt with the kitchen.

“I think I saw then in one of the boxes we left in the entranceway,” Yixing yells back.

“Okay! Thanks!” Junmyeon walks out into the hall, scanning the boxes left, looking for any labeled with ‘bedroom’.

A knock at the door distracts him from his search. He didn’t think they were expecting anyone. Junmyeon opens the door to reveal a man holding a pastry box, with a smile on his face. “Hi, my name is Jongdae. I saw you guys had just moved in yesterday. I live right next door, Jongdae says, pointing in the direction of what Junmyeon assumes is his house. “So I thought I would stop by and introduce myself, and give these to you.” Jongdae hands Junmyeon out the box he was holding.

“Oh, thank you. It’s nice to meet you Jongdae,”

Jongdae smiles brightly, “It’s nice to meet you too. Just let me know if you need help with anything. Oh,” Jongdae face turns serious. “And trust me, these are the best butter tarts in the area. I hope you like them.” And just like that, Jongdae’s smile is back.

Junmyeon laughs. “You seem pretty serious about the butter tarts.”

Jongdae nods solemnly, “Anyway, I’d better get going, I’ll see you around.”

“Thanks again. See you later.” Junmyeon waves, as Jongdae walks away, shutting the door when he’s more than a few meters away.

Arms wrap around Junmyeon’s waist from behind, and Yixing rests his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder, breath tickling his ear as he speaks, “Who was that?”

Junmyeon shrugs away. “That tickles,” Junmyeon huffs. “That was our neighbor, Jongdae. He brought us butter tarts.”

“That’s nice-” A knock at the door interrupts Yixing. He reaches around Yixing, pushing the door open again. “Hi.”

The man at the door seems surprised that they opened the door so quickly. “Oh, hi, I’m Chanyeol. I just wanted to welcome you guys to the neighborhood. I live just across the street by the way!” He holds out the box he was carrying. “And these are for you. I swear the best butter tarts in the area!”

Junmyeon laughs, taking the box and stacking it on top of the other box he is holding. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Junmyeon, and this is Yixing.”

Chanyeol smiles, “It’s nice to meet you too. Well, I’ve got to go, but I’ll hopefully see you around town. Have a good day!”

“Thank you!” Junmyeon and Yixing waves as Chanyeol walks away. “Well,” Yixing says, once the door is shut, taking the boxes out of Junmyeon’s hands to look at their labels. “It looks like we’ve just been given butter tarts from two different places. Want to take a break and see which ones we like better?”

“Sure.”

They retreat into the kitchen, pulling out plates, and clearing a space to eat. They each eat one of Jongdae butter tarts first. The crust is thin and flaky, and the middle is gooey. Yixing hums when he finishes his. “Sweet. These are amazing.”

Junmyeon is about to take a bite out of one of the butter tarts from Chanyeol when Yixing stops him. “Wait!” He fills two glasses of water. “We need to do this properly,” he says. “You have to clean your palette between each one.”

Junmyeon giggles, taking a sip of water. “I feel like I’m on some fancy cooking show.” He finishes the water.

He watches as Yixing takes a bite of one of Chanyeol’s butter tarts, face morphing into an expression of utter betrayal. “It has raisins!” He puts the butter tart down and pushes the plate away from himself. “I’ve decided. Jongdae’s butter tarts are better. This is not up for debate.”

Junmyeon laughs at his antics, taking his own bite of the butter tart. The crust is a bit thicker than the one that Jongdae gave them, and Yixing was right. There are raisins in it, but they are still quite good. “It’s good, but I agree. I think Jongdae’s are better.”

Yixing nods. “Good. I’m not sure what I’d do if you like the ones with raisins better.” His mouth twists and he scrunches up his nose in disgust.

“You’d still love me.”

“I’m not so sure.” Yixing jokes.

Junmyeon gasps in mock offense. “It’s a good thing I like Jongdae’s better.”

Yixing laughs, leaning forward and cradling Junmyeon’s face, planting a big, wet kiss on his forehead. “I’m joking. I’d love you no matter what. Now c’mon let’s finish unpacking.

//

It isn’t until almost a week later that Junmyeon meets Jongdae again. He’s taking advantage of his workday ending early on Tuesdays at the flower shop to start planting his garden in the backyard. He’s dragging some bags of soil out of the trunk of the car when Jongdae walks by.

“Would you like some help?”

“Oh, yes, thank you!” Jongdae takes a bag and follows Junmyeon to the backyard. They continue moving back and forth from the car and the backyard until all the bags have been moved.

Once they’ve finished Jongdae looks around the backyard at all the supplies, seeds, and some plants that Junmyeon had moved back earlier. “Do you need help with anything else, I’m not really busy right now.”

“Um, not really, unless you’d like to help planting everything. I mean, only if you want to.”

Jongdae lights up, and Junmyeon’s heart flutter. His smile is really cute. “I’d love to! just tell me what to do!”

Junmyeon smiles and sets about instructing Jongdae on what to put where, and the best way to plants the seeds. They spend the better part of the afternoon chatting and working in the garden.

“So did you have a garden before you moved here?”

“Yeah, I love plants. I loved watching them grow and flourish ever since I was little, and my mom let me help her in the garden. I’ve planted one at every house I’ve lived in. I actually work as a florist as well.”

“Really! That must be really nice.” Jongdae says.

“It is,” Junmyeon says. “The people at my new job are really kind too, so work is a lot of fun. What do you do?”

“I work as a vocal coach, and help my friend out at his bakery most days.”

Junmyeon turns to look at Jongdae. “That’s awesome! You must be an amazing singer!”

“I’m okay.” Jongdae laughs, “If you really want to see me sing, there’s a bar with an open stage in town every night. I sing there every Saturday night. It’s called ‘the Bar’.”

Junmyeon laughs. “Appropriately named, I see, well then, I’ll see you there.”

Yixing walks into the garden just as Junmyeon finishes speaking, ruffling Junmyeon hair as he sits next to him. “Hi.”

“Hi, you,” Junmyeon says.

Jongdae looks up at Yixing, and waves quickly. “Hi, I’m Jongdae. I live next door to you two.”

Yixing smiles warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Jongdae. I’m Yixing, Junmyeon’s boyfriend. Thank you for helping him with the garden by the way.”

“No problem. It’s a lot of fun, and I’ve gotten to know him quite a bit. He’s a joy to talk to.” Jongdae sits back, focusing his attention on his conversation with Yixing. “Speaking of, we were just talking about jobs, what do you do?”

“I work in the local hospital. I specialize in Hanahaki.”

Jongdae inhales sharply. “Wow, that must be intense.”

“It’s not too bad,” Yixing says. "We can deal with most cases without much fuss as long as people come in during the seed’s earlier stage. It’s when people avoid it when it becomes a problem.” Junmyeon curls in on himself unconsciously, thinking about how he actually met Yixing.

Thankfully Jongdae just nods and changes the topic. “How long have you guys been dating?”

Junmyeon joins into the conversation this time, “About five years,” He turns to look at Yixing. “Right?”

Yixing looks down, probably calculating how long it had been since they’d first met. “Yep. Five years.” He drops a quick kiss on Junmyeon's cheek. “Time sure does go fast. Anyway, I’ll go start on dinner. Jongdae you’re welcome to stay if you’d like.”

“Thank you, but I’m okay, I already have plans, so maybe some other time.” He looks down at his watch. “Speaking of which, I’ve got to go. I totally forgot. Minseok’s gonna be pissed! Hopefully, I’ll see you guys soon. Bye!”

“Bye!” Junmyeon shouts as Jongdae speeds away.

Yixing ruffs his hair again and stands up. “Why don’t you come help me with dinner. We can finish gardening afterwards.”

Junmyeon hums, finishing planting one last seedling before standing up. “Okay, let’s go.”

//

That weekend Yixing begs Junmyeon to go get more butter tarts. They were admittedly hooked on the ones that Jongdae had brought them and were sad once they’d finished them off.

The bakery is tucked in around the back of a building, and took quite a lot of confusion and asking for directions to find, but it’s worth is when Junmyeon smells the sweet smell of sugar and coffee that permeates the air of the bakery.

It just so happens that the bakery Jongdae said he works at is the one he brought them butter tarts from. Now it makes sense as to why he was so adamant about them being the best.

“Yes!” He yells when he sees Junmyeon. “I knew you’d like our better.”

“They were amazing.” Junmyeon agrees. “Plus the other ones had raisins, and Yixing really doesn’t like raisins.”

Jongdae cackles triumphantly. The bell above the door rings and Chanyeol walks into the shop. Jongdae laughs even more when he sees him. “Chanyeol! Junmyeon likes our butter tarts better! And he agrees that the raisins are weird!”

Chanyeol whines, “They raisins aren’t weird! I like them!” He turns to Junmyeon. “Do you actually not like them?”

Junmyeon nods, laughing at their antics. “I’m sorry. They're fine, but I think they’d be better without them.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol groans. “I’ll talk to Soo about changing taking them out. You win Jongdae.”

Jongdae cackles again. Another man walks out of the back of the bakery. “Jongdae what are you laughing at?”

“Minseok! I finally got Chanyeol to realize that the raising shouldn’t be in their butter tarts!”

“Really?” The man – Junmyeon assumes his name is Minseok – raises an eyebrow. “What are you even doing here in the first place anyway, Chanyeol?”

“You guys have better coffee.” He mumbles. “It’s not a crime.”

Jongdae turns to Junmyeon and explains. “Chanyeol is the co-owner of the other bakery in this area that’s pretty well known for its butter tarts. They just recently added raisins into the tarts, and we’ve been trying to get him to take them out cause they’re really not that good.” He says pointedly, turning to look at Chanyeol. “Oh! I almost forgot! Junmyeon this is Minseok. He owns the bakery, and Minseok this is Junmyeon, my neighbor.”

Minseok smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. I heard quite a bit about you last night, so I’m glad to finally meet you in person.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. Your butter tarts are amazing by the way. My boyfriend and I had trouble not eating them all at once!”

“I glad you liked them. So, since all Jongdae seems to be good at is laughing, how can I help you.”

“Hey!” Jongdae screeches indignantly.

Junmyeon laughs. “I’d like a box of butter tarts please.”

Minseok nods and starts putting together a box, as Jongdae rings up the order. “Are you coming to the Bar tonight?” Jongdae asks.

“Yep!” Junmyeon says. “Yixing might actually sing something too. He was really excited when I told him about it.”

Jongdae’s eyes light up. “Really that’ll be nice! Is he a good singing?”

“He’s great.” Junmyeon smiles. “He plays the guitar and writes his own songs some times.”

“Wow, sounds like you, Chanyeol.” Jongdae looking quickly at Chanyeol before turning back to Junmyeon. “I can’t wait.” He smiles, and Junmyeon can’t help but smile back just as happily.

//

The bar is already packed by the time Junmyeon and Yixing arrive. They split up: Yixing going to sign up and get drinks, and Junmyeon to find a table.

Just as he’s located an empty spot where they can sit, the current singing finishes up. Everyone quiets down as the next person enters the stage. Junmyeon recognizes Jongdae immediately. He looks amazing up on stage, comfortable even with everyone’s attention focuses on him.

And when he starts to sing, it’s mesmerizing. Junmyeon is so enraptured that he barely notices Yixing sit down beside him until he leans over to whisper to him, “He’s really good. No wonder he’s a vocal coach.” Junmyeon nods absentmindedly, attention still focused on Jongdae’s singing.

After leaving the stage, Jongdae somehow manages to find Junmyeon and Yixing in the crowd. “That was amazing!” Junmyeon exclaims, as soon as Jongdae has found a chair and sat down.

Yixing nods excitedly in agreement. “Yeah, I’m glad we didn’t miss your singing. It was beautiful.”

“Thank you so much,” Jongdae says. “I’m happy you liked it.”

“Liked it? I loved it!”

Jongdae just laughs. “I’d love to hear you sing one day.”

Junmyeon makes a face. “Maybe.”

“C’mon you’re great.” Yixing laughs, addressing Jongdae, “Don’t worry, I’ll get him to sing someday.”

Junmyeon whines, pouting at Yixing. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

Yixing shakes his head, still smiling. Junmyeon huffs and looks away at the stage. “Wait, it that Chanyeol?”

They both follow Junmyeon's gaze to Chanyeol standing in the stage, holding a guitar and struggling with the mic stand. “Yep,” Jongdae says. “He usually plays on Saturday too.”

They watch as Chanyeol finally wins his fight with the mic stand, and starts playing. The song is short and sweet, ending with Junmyeon wishing he could listen to it for just a bit longer. “What song was he playing?” He asks.

“Chanyeol composes some of his own music. Before starting the bakery with Kyungsoo, he wanted to be a composer, so now he just writes his own music as a hobby, and plays whenever he has something new.” Jongdae says.

Junmyeon nods. Next to him, Yixing stands up with his guitar case. “I’ll be right back. I’m next after this guy. Love you.” Yixing leans over kissing Junmyeon quickly, before leaving to go prepare for his turn on stage.

“Love you too,” Junmyeon calls back as he disappears into the crowd. He turns back to Jongdae. “Does everybody here sing? First you, now Chanyeol, I wouldn’t be surprised if Minseok walk up on stage next.”

“Actually,” Yixing snickers pointing toward the stage where, sure enough, Minseok has gone up to sing.

“Seriously,” Junmyeon groans.

Jongdae laughs, and they both quiet down while Minseok sings.

//

Sitting innocently in the palm of Junmyeon’s hand is a single delicate flower petal.

His stomach drops. This can’t be happening. Not again.

He wants the ground to open up under him, and swallow him whole. He wants to go back to sleep, and forget what just happened. He doesn’t want to have to deal with coughing up flower petals. Not when he thought he was finally in the clear.

“Junmyeon,” Yixing’s voice snaps Junmyeon out of his thoughts, and he hastily shoves the petal into his pocket just as he feels Yixing’s arms wrap around his middle in a loose hug, as he drapes himself over Junmyeon sleepily, resting his chin on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Whatcha doing?”

“Just thinking about what to make for breakfast. Do you want anything in particular?”

“Not sure. I love anything you make.”

Junmyeon smiles. “Okay, I’ll make eggs and toast then.”

The petal burns where it sits in his pocket. He knows he should tell Yixing, but he can’t right now. Junmyeon tells himself that he’ll talk to Yixing about it once he knows for certain who the person how triggered the seed’s growth is; he knows he’s lying to himself.

//

“Junmyeon, are you okay.” Yixing’s voice, tinged with panic, slips through the bathroom door that Junmyeon had slammed shut only moments before. They had just settled into bed when Junmyeon had felt another coughing fit coming. In his panic, he’d flung himself out of bed, most definitely terrifying Yixing, and almost falling flat on his face in the rush to shut himself in the bathroom.

“I’m fine,” Junmyeon calls back. He stares at the flower petals floating in the toilet, for a couple seconds longer before flushing them and opening the door. “Don’t worry, I’m okay, I was just feeling a bit off, I’m good now.” Junmyeon does his best to plaster a smile onto his face, hoping Yixing buys it.

Yixing narrows his eyes, not fully convinced. “Are you sure you’re okay? We can set up a doctor’s appointmen-”

“NO!” Junmyeon yells. “I mean, I’m fine, really, you don’t need to worry, I promise.” Junmyeon’s gut twists at the lie. His mind flickers back to all of the ink-black rose petals he’s already shoved into the trash or flushed down the toilet.

Yixing’s eye’s narrow at Junmyeon's outburst, but he lets it go. “Okay, you’ll tell me if you start to feel worse though, right.”

Junmyeon’s chest tightens as if to remind him of the flower taking root in his lungs, growing bigger each day, “I promise.”

“Okay,” Yixing says slowly, finally letting it go. Junmyeon’s heart is heavy as they settle back into sleep. The coughing fits have become increasingly more frequent, and he’s started coughing up flecks of blood with the petals. He knows he needs to tell Yixing before it’s too late.

//

It isn’t until a couple weeks after Junmyeon has started coughing up the petals that he realizes Jongdae is the one who triggered it.

He’s at work, putting together working through some of the orders when Jongdae walks in. Junmyeon had seen him multiple times in the past week, he frequently comes over, some times helping Junmyeon in the garden, but today he looks stunning, and Junmyeon’s heart stutters when he sees him. He’s dressed up, suit and tie, hairbrush back out of his face.

“Hi, Jongdae. How can I help you?” Junmyeon smiles.

“Hi,” Jongdae returns his smile, and Junmyeon’s heart flutters again. “I need a nice bouquet for a concert.”

“Okay, I’ll put something together. Is there anything specific you want in it.”

Jongdae nods. “Sunflowers, if you have them, other than that, anything is fine.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon says, walking around the shop, picking flowers for the bouquet. “Who are the flower for?” He asks while putting the bouquet together.

“It’s for a student of mine. It’s her first solo concert, I’m really excited to see how she’s grown since I’ve taught her.”

“That’s so sweet,” Junmyeon smiles, handing the bouquet over to Jongdae. “I hope you enjoy the concert. I’m sure she’ll be amazing. You were her teacher after all.”

Jongdae laughs and pays for the flowers. “Thank you, Junmyeon. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” Junmyeon’s heart clenches as Jongdae leaves. He knows who triggered the Hanahaki, but now he’s got to tell Yixing and Jongdae about it.

//

Junmyeon is in the kitchen, cooking dinner when another coughing fit hits him. This, along with the noise of the overhead fan, prevents him from hearing Jongdae enter.

“Oh my god! Junmyeon!” Junmyeon spins around, black petals spilling out of his hands and on to the floor. Jongdae reaches down, picking up a full rose flower. “It’s in its last stage.” Jongdae murmurs, “Why?” He looks Junmyeon in the eyes. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Junmyeon just stares, mortified. He’d only let it get this bad once, and that time had resulted in him completely forgetting the person who triggered it in the first place. He didn’t mean to let it get this bad again. He just wanted to wait for the right time to tell them.

When he doesn’t respond, Jongdae guides him to sit down, looking him in the eyes. “Stay here. I’m going to call Yixing.”

//

The sound of the front door slamming shut echoes throughout the house, and within seconds Yixing is rushing into the living room where Junmyeon is sitting curls up small on the couch with Jongdae sitting in the armchair across from him.

“Junmyeon, what were you thinking?” Yixing’s voice is panicked. It makes Junmyeon feel even worse, but he doesn’t say anything. Yixing cradles Junmyeon’s face, lifting it up in an attempt to make Junmyeon look him in the eyes, but Junmyeon still shifts his gaze away. “Junmyeon, you promised me. You promised you wouldn’t let this happen again.”

Junmyeon doesn’t respond, can’t respond. Yixing pulls him close, holding him tight.

Jongdae speaks up, voice soft, “You’ve had Hanahaki before.” It’s a statement, not a question.

“Yeah. A couple times.” He pulls up his shirt revealing a scar cutting across his chest in a Y-shape. “I, uh, had surgery. It was years ago. I don’t even really remember who it was.”

Yixing’s expression sours, and he mutters under his breath, “I do.”

Yixing was to one who operated on him. He was there helping Junmyeon heal in the aftermath. Removing a Hanahaki plant also removes any romantic love that is in your heart at the time along with it. Junmyeon doesn’t even remember who it was that he let the plant grow for.

At that moment the gravity of the situation really hits him. If he gets surgery again, it won’t just be Jongdae he won’t remember, it will be Yixing too. “I’m sorry.” He whispers, voice cracking. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Yixing hugs him tighter, holds him closer, running his hand up and down Junmyeon’s back in a comforting motion. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We can fix this, just tell me who it is.”

Junmyeon pulls away, out of Yixing’s embrace, shooting a nervous glance at Jongdae. He doesn’t want to ruin their relationship with him. He knows it’s stupid, it’s his life, his memories, his love on the line, but the fear of ruining everything is still there.

“Junmyeon, please.” Yixing pleads.

Junmyeon takes a deep breath and stares down at his hands clasped together in his lap. “It’s Jongdae.”

The room is silent for a couple seconds before Jongdae’s voice pierces through it. “Really?” he says. And Junmyeon would almost hesitate to say he sounds hopeful.

Yixing plants a soft kiss on his forehead. “Thank you for telling us. I love you,” he whispers.

Jongdae clears his throat awkwardly, and Junmyeon turns to look at him. “I, uh, I actually like you too, both of you.” He says uncertainly.

Junmyeon smiles, giddy at the thought that the three of them might actually work together.

“Well, I have no objections to dating the two of you. Jongdae probably spends as much time here as he does at his own house at this point, and I’d be lying if I would say I haven’t grow attached.” Junmyeon turns to see Yixing smiling brightly, and every worry he might have had disappears.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! (^-^)/


End file.
